No medals for winners at the biggest sports event of the country

Education Ministry still looking for sponsors to make medal dreams come true  

by Reemus Fernando  

The All Island Schools Games conducted by the Ministry of Education is the biggest sports event of the country. However, when the annual event is held after a lapse of two years the podium finishers will have to be content with only a certificate for their achievements as the cash strapped government institution is yet to receive the support of a sponsor to cover  the costs of medals.

The event was not held during the last two years due to the Covid 19 pandemic and when there should be an additional impetus to boost the morale of youngsters to engage in sports the organizers are finding it difficult even to award the customary medals.

The national level competitions of the All Island Schools Games 2022 are now on after each Province selected teams and athletes in respective sports discipline during the last three months. School athletes vie for honours  in 32 sports disciplines.

The All Island Schools Games is considered the biggest sports event of the country due to the huge participation.

According to Ministry of Education sources the costs of medals have almost doubled this year forcing the officials to consider scraping the awarding of medals.

The ministry needs a whopping sum of rupees eight million to purchase medals for the winners of various sports disciplines.

Organisers need a total of 5293 medals (for girls’ events: 816 golds, 816 silvers and 903 bronzes, for boys’ events: 885 golds, 885 silvers and 988 bronzes) to be presented to winners.

“We are still looking for sponsors to make medals available for the event,” an official of the Ministry of Education said in reply to a query by The Island yesterday.

The Games’ showpiece event, the Athletics Championship is scheduled to commence at the Sugathadasa Stadium on November 16. For a majority of the athletes in the under 20 category this will be the final All Island Schools Games and a medal won at these championships will become a cherished possession. Some of the athletes in this age category missed the opportunity of competing in the Under 18 age category as two years were lost to the Covid 19 pandemic.

The Department of Education of the Western Province too did not award medals to the winners at their recently held Provincial Schools Games. The athletes who had to be content with certificates at the provincial event were looking forward to the highly competitive All Island School Games to win medals.

If the Ministry of Education fails to attract a sponsor for medals it will be the first time the winners had not been awarded medals in the history of the All Island Schools Games which were inaugurated in 1984. Incidentally the Games were initiated when the incumbent president of the country Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Minister of Education.